NKR Population to Get NKR Passports Soon

NKR POPULATION TO GET NKR PASSPORTS SOON

YEREVAN, MARCH 30. ARMINFO. Shortly the NKR Parliament will adopt a
law on NKR citizenship, NKR FM Arman Melikyan said during today’s
Armenian Parliament hearings of the Karabakh problem.

He says that the fate of the Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan is in
the center of the NKR Government’s attention. A recent survey has
shown that 45,000 Armenian refugees have got Russian citizenship,
1,500 Armenian one with the rest having no citizenship at all. The
above law will solve the problem of thousands of Armenian refugees.

Being unrecognized internationally NKR will give them passport of
internal use only with foreign trips to be made by Armenian
passports. The NKR passports will be in Armenian with the second
language not determined yet.

NK: Referendum Ideas Show Readiness of Int’l Comm. for NKR Self-Det.

NAGORNY KARABAKH CONSIDERS IDEA ON REPEATED REFERENDUM OF INDEPENDENCE
AS TENDENCY ON READINESS OF INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO RECOGNIZE
RIGHTS OF NKR PEOPLE FOR SELF-DETERMINATION

YEREVAN, MARCH 30. ARMINFO. Stepanakert considers an idea on holding a
repeated referendum of independence in NKR as a tendency on the
readiness of international community to recognize the rights of NKR
people for self-determination, NKR Foreign Minister Arman Melikyan
stated at today’s hearings on “Karabakh Conflict: Ways of Settlement”.

He stressed that there are numerous unclear questions for holding the
repeated referendum. All these questions may make the referendum
senseless, therefore, Stepanakert considers its holding only as an
idea.

To note, this idea belongs to Chairman of NATO’s Parliamentary
Assembly Pier Lelush. Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan and
Defence Minister Serje Sargsyan also stated about the possible
adoption of this proposal as a version for the solution of Karabakh’s
conflict. They stressed that the repeated referendum in NKR will
become a compromise from the Armenian party as NKR held such a
referendum 15 years ago in accordance with the international law
standards. Former Russian Co-Chairman of the OSCE MG Vladimir
Kazimirov also stressed the acceptability of this idea. -r-

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Aznavour demande que l’Allemagne reconnaisse le=?UNKNOWN?Q?g=E9nocid

Agence France Presse
30 mars 2005 mercredi 10:37 AM GMT

Charles Aznavour demande que l’Allemagne reconnaisse le génocide
arménien

BERLIN

Le chanteur et compositeur français d’origine arménienne Charles
Aznavour, a demandé que l’Allemagne parle de “crime contraire au
droit international” à propos du génocide arménien, “comme la France
et la Suisse l’ont déjà fait.”

Fils de réfugiés arméniens, il a expliqué, dans un article à paraître
jeudi dans l’hebdomadaire Die Zeit: “l’Allemagne porte une
responsabilité.

Non pas parce que ses hommes politiques ont ordonné l’extermination
d’Arméniens mais parce qu’ils en ont été les spectateurs. Parce
qu’ils ont dit à leurs alliés d’alors: ‘faites ce que bon vous
semble'”.

“Si les Allemands reconnaissaient ce génocide, ce serait un grand
pas. Alors, leurs alliés se verraient aussi forcés de le faire”,
a-t-il ajouté.

Le chancelier allemand Gerhard Schroeder a été, à côté du président
français Jacques Chirac, l’un des principaux soutiens de la
candidature turque à l’adhésion à l’Union européenne. Ce soutien a
contribué à ce que l’UE donne son feu vert en décembre à l’ouverture
de négociations d’adhésion, qui doivent formellement commencer le 3
octobre prochain.

Ankara, qui a des relations étroites avec Berlin, réagit très
vivement aux moindres allusions par les parlements européens au
“génocide arménien”.

“Peaceful” Position of Armenia in NK Should Not Mislead Azerbaijan

“PEACEFUL” POSITION OF ARMENIA IN KARABAKH ISSUE SHOULD NOT MISLEAD
AZERBAIJAN ABOUT OUR MILITARY ABILITIES: LEVON MKRTCHYAN

YEREVAN, MARCH 30. ARMINFO. “Karabakh is the strategic issue for ARF
Dashnaktsutyun, concerned not only with Armenia’s future but also with
all the Armenian people”, stated Head of ARFD faction Levon Lazarian
during today’s hearings on Karabakh issue.

In his words, the independence of Karabakh is the fight for both the
independence and the existence of Armenia. “Karabakh is the
compensation of rights of the people subjected to Genocide and lost
the whole Western Armenia and a part of Eastern”, Lazarian stated.
He stressed the necessity of larger covering and acquaintance of
international structures engaged in Karabakh issue with reasons of
conflict’s rise in 1988-1992.

He also stressed the role of parliamentarian groups of friendship in
distribution of information about conflict’s genesis. At the same
time, Mkrtchayn expressed confidence that the Karabakh issue will be
solved amicably, which is possible only if public consciousness in
Armenia and Azerbaijan is directed to the adoption of compromises.
“However, adherence of Armenian party to the peaceful solution of this
problem should not mislead Azerbaijan about Armenia’s military
abilities. Our peaceful position is based on our rightfulness and
fairness, but not on military weakness”, Lazarian noted. -r-

Discussions Concerning NK To Be Held in Moscow on May 1

DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING PROBLEM OF NAGORNY KARABAKH TO BE HELD IN
MOSCOW ON MAY 16-17

YEREVAN, MARCH 30. ARMINFO. On May 16-17 in Moscow the Foreign
Political Association of Russia, Association of Russian diplomats and
World Peace-Keeping Association will hold the third discussions
concerning the problem of Nagorny Karabakh. Former Cochairman of OSCE
Minsk Group for settlement of the Karabakh conflict Vladmir Kazimirov
stated during the hearings on Nagorny Karabakh held at Armenian
parliament.

Vladimir Kazimirov also expressed an opinion that Armenia is not the
guarantor of security of NKR, but a third party of the conflict. “I
cannot change this point of view. It’s another matter that Armenia,
declaring itself a guarantor of the security of NKR, may squeeze out
of the international community the maximum in order to resign from
this role – in exchange for provision of guarantees by the
international community”, the former cochairman said. Speaking about
the question of the status, he mentioned if it is not solved by
negotiations, then it will be possible to solve it by conducting a
repeated referendum of independence in the NKR territory. “As regards
the participation of representatives of the Azerbaijani community of
Nagorny Karabakh in the referendum, then the simple arithmetic shows
that their participation will not have an influence of the results of
the referendum”, Vladimir Kazimirov added. He stressed the importance
of manifestation of constructive activity in resolution to the
conflict by all the parties.

In his turn, Serge Sargsian, Defence Minister of Armenia, Secretary of
National Security Council of the president, appealed to Vladimir
Kazimirov with a request to use his contacts with Foreign Ministry of
Russia in order to attract the attention of the OSCE Minsk Group to
the document signed in 1995 concerning the terms of establishment of
the cease-fire regime, where the positions of the armed forces of the
parties in that period are fixed. “Let the cochairmen and
international community understand who violates the documents,
cease-fire regime and pushes ahead its positions. It’s high time to
focus on these problems”, Serge Sargsian stressed.

Syrian Sheikhs Meet with Reps of Parliamentary Political Forces

SYRIAN SHEIKHS MEET WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF PARLIAMENTARY POLITICAL
FORCES OF ARMENIA

YEREVAN, MARCH 30. ARMINFO. Twelve Syrian sheikhs, who are in Armenia
to take part in the arrangements, dedicated to the 90th anniversary of
the Genocide of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey, met with representatives
of parliamentary political forces of Armenia, on March 30.

ARMINFO was informed in the press office of the Armenian parliament,
the Armenian MPs expressed gratitude to the guests for that the latter
revered the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide. The
guests assured that the century-old friendship of Armenian and Arab
peoples is continuous and both peoples must struggle for justice side
by side. At the same time they condemned any violence in any
country. The guests were acquainted with the structure and the
activity of the Armenian parliament, as well as with the process of
peaceful settlement of the Karabakh problem.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Turkey Should Take Positively Formation of International Commission

TURKEY SHOULD TAKE POSITIVELY FORMATION OF INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE: SWISS FM

YEREVAN, MARCH 30. ARMINFO. Turkish FM Abduallah Gul has met in Ankara
with his Swiss counterpart Micheline Calmy-Rey. Among other issues the
FMs discussed the problem of the Armenian Genocide.

Hurriyet reports Calmy-Rey as saying that Turkey should take the
Armenian Genocide issue the way Switzerland did with the problem of
the Nazi Gold. Reminding Gul how hard it was for Switzerland to accept
the formation of an international commission for examining the problem
of the gold of Holocaust victims Calmy-Rey said that Turkey should
take positively the formation of a similar commission on the Armenian
Genocide.

In response Gul called a mistake the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide by the Swiss canton of Waadtland (Vaud) saying that it was
the Armenian Diaspora who raised the Armenian Genocide issue just to
continue its existence. If there is any doubt Turkey invites best
international experts to study the problem.

Berne appelle Ankara au travail approfondi sur le genocide armenien

Agence France Presse
30 mars 2005 mercredi 10:37 AM GMT

Berne appelle Ankara à un travail approfondi sur le génocide arménien

ANKARA 29 mars

La ministre suisse des Affaires étrangères Micheline Calmy-Rey a
appelé mardi la Turquie à entreprendre un travail historique
approfondi sur le génocide des Arméniens perpétré dans ce pays sous
le règne des Ottomans pendant la Première Guerre mondiale.

“Nous pensons qu’il est essentiel que chaque pays mène une recherche
approfondie sur son propre passé, particulièrement à propos d’une
question aussi douloureuse”, a déclaré Mme Calmy-Rey à la presse à
Ankara après une rencontre avec son homologue turc Abdullah Gul.

La ministre suisse s’exprimait au premier jour d’une visite
officielle à Ankara, qui aurait dû avoir lieu en 2003 mais avait été
annulée après le vote par le Conseil national, la chambre basse du
parlement suisse, d’une résolution reconnaissant le génocide des
Arméniens sous l’empire ottoman.

M. Gul a pour sa part répété que l’accusation de génocide par la
diaspora arménienne était “inacceptable” pour la Turquie, tout en
reconnaissant que cette question “empoisonne parfois nos relations
avec d’autres pays”.

Ankara, très sensible sur cette question, refuse d’admettre le terme
de “génocide” pour les massacres d’Arméniens commis en 1915 sous
l’empire ottoman alors que les Arméniens affirment que quelque 1,5
million des leurs ont été massacrés délibérément à cette époque.

Mme Calmy-Rey a salué comme une “bonne idée” la récente proposition
d’Ankara de charger des historiens d’un travail approfondi sur cette
question. Elle a précisé avoir proposé à M. Gul d’y faire participer
des experts internationaux pour rendre ce travail plus crédible.

Hearings on NK in Calm Atmosphere in Baku Would Be Impossible

HEARINGS ON KARABAKH IN SUCH CALM ATMOSPHERE IN BAKU WOULD BE
IMPOSSIBLE: VICE SPEAKER OF ARMENIAN NA

YEREVAN, MARCH 30. ARMINFO. It is such parliamentary hearings that
makes Armenia different from Azerbaijan as these hearings in such a
calm atmosphere in Baku would be impossible, says Vice Speaker of the
Armenian National Assembly, the member of ARFD Bureau, Head of the
Armenian parliamentary delegation to OSCE PA Vahan Hovhannissyan
today.

He says that the atmosphere around settlement of the conflict is
changing and the issue, due to Azerbaijan’s efforts, is submitted to
international parliamentary structures, which are not ready to discuss
it and give priority to the principle of territorial integrity and
settlement of the conflict’s consequences and not the reasons. Such an
approach of these structures is mainly accounted for by the passivity
of the Armenian parliamentary diplomacy, the vice speaker adds. At the
same time, he says that discussion of the issue at international
parliamentary instances may bring benefit as new arenas originate for
presentation of the real essence of the conflict. He says that at
present there are three formulas of settling the conflict – war,
establishment of any relations exclusively after the conflict’s
resolution, and Azeraijan supports these two positions, and the third
one supported by Armenia is settlement of the conflict through
establishment of relations. At present, the position of the
international community coincides with that of Armenia and it
favorably distinguishes Armenia from Azerbaijan.

Hovhannissyan says that a plan of actions on participation in the EU
program of New Neighborhood will be presented to the three Caucasian
states within the nearest future. Due to the program’s implementation
all the problems will be solved and Armenia will integrate into the
single European economic cooperation. But is it possible only in case
of regional cooperation, and Azerbaijan is afraid of it. And it
explains the recent frequent militarist statements of Azerbaijan and
violations of the cease-fire regime, the vice speaker says. At the
same time, he thinks necessary structural reforms both in Armenia and
Karabakh, which is a pledge of security.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

OSCE Chairman-In-Office Will Hold Focused Discussions on NK

OSCE CHAIRMAN-IN-OFFICE WILL HOLD FOCUSED DISCUSSIONS ON SITUATION IN
NAGORNY KARABAKH

YEREVAN, MARCH 30. ARMINFO. Regional visit of OSCE Chairman-in-Office,
Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel to Armenia starts
today. OSCE informs ARMINFO that in Armenia, the Chairman-in-Office is
due to meet President Robert Kocharian, Prime Minister Andranik
Margarian and Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian, as well as the
Chairman of the National Assembly, Artur Baghdasaryan and the
political leader of Nagorno-Karabakh, Arkadi Ghoukasian. His trip
begins in Armenia today, before flying on to Kyrgyzstan in the
evening. In each of the countries, his talks are set to include
matters on the OSCE’s current political agenda and the further
development of democratic processes in the region. The visit also
provides Foreign Minister Rupel with the opportunity for focused
discussions with the leaders of several OSCE participating States in
the southern Caucasus on specific issues, such as the
Georgia-Abkhazia, Georgia-South Ossetia and Nagorno-Karabakh
conflicts, which have so far proved intractable. In Azerbaijan, where
Minister Rupel’s trip will end on Saturday, he will have meetings with
Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, the Speaker of the Mejlis
(Parliament) Murtuz Alaskarov, Prime Minister Arthur Rasizade and
President Ilham Aliyev.

To note, in his recent interview to ARMINFO, D.Rupel said that the
intention of the international community is to ensure a lasting and
above all peaceful settlement.” And the Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group
are working to promote negotiations that will lead to a lasting and
stable settlement. Their role is to mediate, not to arbitrate. A
solution depends on the political will of all the parties concerned.